QuillCorp [Game Design]

[Geoffrotism]

I'd like to start implementing QuillCorp (QC) as an entity. This thread is mainly to answer the questions: what is it? and how does it influence us?

What Is QuillCorp?

Ideas

1. QC is the largest business in X field.
2. Is QC inherently evil, or just ruthlessly addicted to making a profit?

   Accepted Ideas

3. CEO is Quill18.

   How does QuillCorp influence us?

   Ideas

4. We are a franchisee of QC at the start of the game. This might mean that later we can split from QC and form our own company.
5. We are required to fulfill periodic requests made by QC. Such as:

A. Provide X amount of material or product by Y (date).

B. Have a net profit of X at the end of the year.

C. Loan a character for an unspecified time or job that has a chance of either killing off the character or the character ending up with some sort of Skill that will benefit the character.

C. Example: Character X returns with Skill gunslinger - which improves their accuracy (if we even have accuracy) or damage per shot etc.

Accepted Ideas

• None so far.

[koosemose]

Actually the current canon for Quillcorp (QC) is that Quill is in fact not it's CEO, but is in fact its one and only shareholder.

Most of the earlier talk heavily implied that while they weren't necessarily "Evil" they were ruthlessly exploitative. With things functioning along similar lines to a "Company Town". This was the purpose of the "Quillbucks" (QB), essentially a scrip sort of money. So rather than having a quota of X resource, the idea from a story standpoint is they put you in a situation where selling to/buying from them is the best option. The gameplay elements intended for it were that selling things to QC would net you QC, but at worse total value than if you sold it to an independent trader (for the standard money, Inter-Galactic Credits (IGC)). Similarly, anything bought with QB would be at a higher markup. Now to make this so it's something more than just a "Why would we ever do this" sort of thing, there would of course be advantages to dealing with QC, the simplest being more control over when you sell and buy. So you need to make some money quick to buy a thing you desperately need (say your O2 generator broke down, and you don't have the necessary parts to fix it), instead of waiting for a trader to come along and hope they're buying what you have and have what you need, you put in an order with QC to sell them X amount of Y and Z resources, and buy your parts (or whatever), and get them delivered in short order. So it costs you, and nets you less profit, but you get what you need when you need. With further decisions along the lines of "Do I sell my stuff now to a trader for more profit, and hope I don't come up with a sudden need for something I'll need QB to buy" or "Do I sell to QC at lower profit so I have QB around when I need it.

We've discussed many of these ideas in my initial proposal which lead to our current monetary system (though it's just a basic system, without most of the details implemented) in #776

[Geoffrotism]

It was mentioned in that same post that you might be a franchisee @powli

In a sense QB could be used as some kind of xp/tech system. Story being Quillcorp is a big franchise business with the player being some kind of franchise partner. Better machinery has to be unlocked via QB by buying licenses for using the designs of Quillcorp. Or you could send your employees to a training program at Quillcorp for QB, etc.

I don't see why QuillCorp couldn't go out of their way to exploit you into sending them resources or other such help. They know you need them. If you don't fulfill their requests, they get mad and eventually launch an attack that you have to live through to gain independence from them. Although after saying that it rings strangely of America...

Essentially, if you were a greedy member of QuillCorp would YOU want to squeeze everything you could out of your employees ;-)

[BraedonWooding]

Also, maybe u get opportunities to join QuillCorp as a special member and go attack other quillCorp franchises that haven't paid for QC or whatever and guilt 😂

[Geoffrotism]

Not a bad idea. I'm unsure of the joining as a special member part, as you are already an employee/franchisee of QuillCorp (maybe if we fleshed out what being a special member meant and how you got there would help explain it to me). but having QuillCorp tell you to go attack another base to collect a loan or such isnt a bad idea. It adds a natural progression to fighting other than just waiting for pirates.

[koosemose]

It's a matter of the gameplay style each leads to. The more loose sandboxy style of "You can do these things at this cost for that advantage" as opposed to the more linear (even if randomized) style of "You have to do these things else this bad thing will happen to you".

The first tells you what you can do, whereas the second tells you what you have to do.

[Geoffrotism]

Why not both? I like your idea of trading at a higher cost with Quillbucks. I disagree with your notion that our ideas say you have to do something, you can work with quillcorp or against them. With them has its benefits and negatives and not working with them has its pros and cons as well. Yours ONLY states you can work with them. What if you never trade with quillcorp. It seems silly to have them bankroll your expedition to have ZERO ROI. Terrible business strategy. Now to be fair, I'm against making you pay interest to QC every quarter/year as that makes the game too much of an economic simulator for me but others might disagree.

[koosemose]

You think QC bankrolled the expedition? Hah! You have to pay for the right to work with such a glorious and prestigious organization as Quillcorp LLC. They sell you the utility station, and (without the interference of those pesky Free Traders), you'll have to come to them for what you want if you want to get your Basic Utility Station functioning at optimal functionality (optimal being defined as capable of supporting human life for an extended time-span).

We are required to fulfill periodic requests made by QC That sounds quite like we have to work with them.

I'm fine with the idea of a mode or scenario where you have a tighter connection to QC, but as general gameplay I would prefer to keep it looser so a player can play how they want and have choice beyond "Work directly for QC" and "Not work for QC and have them constantly attacking or sanctioning you for breaking contract"

[Geoffrotism]

Hm sandbox and story mode perhaps? Not a bad idea. Would fulfill people's desire to work on one side or the other.

[koosemose]

Such things aren't unheard of, such as Cameco Corporation... which is Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation Corporation when expanded. Or for less silliness there's PAULS Corp, LLC, Cedar Valley Corp., LLC. Very roughly speaking LLC is a more focused term, like MD, so similarly to referring to a doctor in a setting for which you need to be extremely accurate, you might write Dr. John, MD, you would similarly write QuillCorp, LLC (and further since Corp is actually part of their name, it's not technically an official term at all, even though it obviously refers to its status as a corporation...

But really I was going to make a joke about it being an MLC (Maximum Liability Corporation) then backed off of it because I realized it wasn't actually funny, and left the LLC there...